Some thoughts about the series and movie as complementary stories

I just now finished watching the movie, and to be honest, I'm really happy the way it went. It's the perfect>! fantasy ending that I wanted so bad!<. I knew public opinion of the movie was somewhat polarized, so I was hoping and praying that the plot of the movie would revolve around >!Gilbert being alive, which of course, he was lol!<. It's a testament to how invested I was in violet's character. This movie is basically the scenario anyone who's ever>!lost anyone dreams about!<, and for that, I was completely and utterly emotionally satisfied.

Having said that, I do agree with the opinion that the message of the movie is somewhat in conflict with that of the TV show. Perhaps the novel is different, but the anime is an incredibly powerful story about moving on. As a standalone piece of media, it tells a slightly cliche story with drop dead gorgeous production along with gut-wrenching episodic stories that support the larger narrative. I really consider VE the anime to be its own, separate, complete story. It's the story that many people need to hear, and to accept, even if they don't want to. In this sense, I do think that the anime is an objectively better written piece of media than the movie.

Buuuuut, I'm a >!damn sucker for happy endings, and this is fiction, we get to have our cake and eat it too! Even if I honestly think that making Gilbert alive kinda defeats the purpose of the story, I still absolutely loved every second of the movie. Violet gets her happy ending, and I'm all for it.!<Thank you KyoAni for this beautiful production, the emotions I've had while watching this anime will surely linger for years. Easy top 10er!